Place the blame where it belongs. Trump’s rabid supporters, not antifa, stormed the Capitol. – USA TODAY

The FBI is using social media to identify who the participants were and what their motivations were. USA TODAY

Often duringDonald Trump's presidency, we have seentwo realities.There are thecomplex and very real issues we've had to face as a nation, particularly as it has been ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic. Then there are the lies that Trump haspeddledto propel his ego-driven, autocratic agenda.

Trump's falsehoods are as frequent as they are normalized. But last Wednesday afternoon, ashundreds of insurrectionists stormed the U.S. Capitol attempting to halt Congresss certification of the Electoral College votes that wouldconfirm Joe Biden as our nation'snext president, those lies turned treasonous and deadly.

As shocking as it was to witness the violence and mayhem in Washington D.C., it certainly wasn't surprising. For weeks after he lost to Biden, Trump floated baseless claims that rampant voter fraud had changed the outcome of the election. He riled his base at every turn and incited a mob of his supporters todescend on the Capitol to challenge his defeat.

Trump supporters storm the US Capitol in Washington, DC on January 6, 2021.(Photo: OLIVIER DOULIERY, AFP via Getty Images)

Trump's mob wasn'tsuccessful in their efforts, but their destruction will have a lasting effect.Five people died, including a Capitol Policeofficer, and dozens more were injured.Property was damaged.Vice President Mike Pence and lawmakers were under siege.America was changed forever.

Capitol police officers in riot gear push back demonstrators who try to break a door of the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington.(Photo: Jose Luis Magana, AP)

Could this finally be the moment? The moment when prominent Republicans who have walked in lockstep with Trump for years call foran honest reckoning of how we've devolved as a democratic republic and how we might rebound?

Of course not. Instead they floated conspiracy theories that disguised antifa and Black Lives Matters protesters were responsible for the attack on the seat of American government. Because the rioters were overwhelmingly white, it was hard for even Trump's most fervent supporters to blame Black protesters. So they falselypointed fingers instead at antifa, a short-hand term for the anti-fascist protest movement.

If the reports are true, some of the people who breached the Capitol today were not Trump supporters," Republican Rep.Matt Gaetz of Floridasaid from the House floor hours after the riot. "They were masquerading as Trump supporters and, in fact, were members of the violent terrorist group antifa.

Pro-Trump rioters descend the stairs outside the Senate Chamber as violence erupted at the Capitol after mobs breached the security and stormed the U.S. Capitol, Jan. 6, 2021 in Washington.(Photo: Manuel Balce Ceneta, AP)

An Alabama Republican, Rep. Mo Brooks, also weighed in on Twitter: "Please, dont be like #FakeNewsMedia, dont rush to judgment on assault on Capitol. Wait for investigation. All may not be (and likely is not) what appears. Evidence growing that fascist ANTIFA orchestrated Capitol attack with clever mob control tactics."

Before Wednesdays riots,Brooks haddelivered an impassioned speechto Trump supporters, stating that today is the day American patriots start taking down names and kicking ass.

Trump and his supporters are often swift in their disturbing attempts to pivot and duck when the fingeris pointed at them irreproachable and smug.AfterTrump grasped the gravity of the riot, he alsotried to place blame and deflect byprivately claiming that"Antifa people" bear responsibility for the assault on the Capitol, according to Axios.

For the record, the FBI on Friday debunked those trying to pin the blame on antifa or Black Lives Matter. Steven DAntuono, the assistant director in charge of the FBIs Washington field office, said investigators had seen no indication antifa activists had infiltrated the mob and wreaked havoc.

The Associated Press also found that the rioters wereoverwhelmingly made up of longtime Trump supporters, including Republican Party officials, GOP political donors, far-right militants, white supremacists, off-duty police and members of the military and those who subscribe to QAnon theories. The APreviewed social media posts, voter registrations, court files and other public records for more than 120 people either facing criminal charges related to theunrest or who were later identified through photographs and videos taken during the melee.

We all know what and who we saw broadcast on our televisions and in photos later published. Thosewearing red hats and carrying Trump or Confederate flags were aportion of his rabid and vocalbase we've witnessed since Trumpannounced his candidacy in 2015.And those same domestic terroristswent on toriot, vandalize and kill.

Rioters at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021(Photo: Metropolitan Police of Washington DC)

Still, the conspiracy theory about interlopers storming the Capitol wasshared more than 150,000 times on Twitter and thousands of times more on Facebook by Wednesday evening, according to an analysis by The New York Times.Altogether, the accounts pushing the rumor had tens of millions of followers, the Times reported.

When will Americans tire of being lied to by those elected to represent us? When will Americans demand accountability? When willMAGA mediapersonalities be called on the carpet for stoking fears and floating fabrications?

What happened last week liessquarely on the shoulders of Trump and his misguided flock.Any attempt to excuse, rationalize,justify or lie about their treasonous behavior is almost asdespicable as their actions.

Trump supportersdid his bloody bidding. It's now time to sit with that knowledge and own it.

National columnist Suzette Hackney is a member of USA TODAYS Editorial Board. Contact her at shackney@usatoday.com or on Twitter: @suzyscribe

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Place the blame where it belongs. Trump's rabid supporters, not antifa, stormed the Capitol. - USA TODAY